Juventus defeated Napoli 3-1 after a tough game at the Stadio San Paolo in the Serie A Sunday night to end their 15-year wait for a win in Naples.
Goals from Paul Pogba, Martin Caceres and an injury-time Arturo Vidal clincher were enough for the visitors, who had conceded the equaliser midway through the second half when Miguel Britos guided in a Dries Mertens’ corner.
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Napoli
Rafael Cabral – 6.5 – Alert
Couldn’t have done much with any of the goals but was solid apart from those occasions.
Christian Maggio – 5.5 – Inconsequential
Got forward much more in the second half though his crosses rarely found teammates. Was decent defensively.
Kalidou Koulibaly – 6 – Adapting
Was shaken off by Llorente for Pogba’s goal but did well otherwise making a couple of important tackles.
Raul Albiol – 5 – Faltered
Like his partner, was very easily outmuscled by Llorente and could have done better while defending Pirlo’s freekick.
Miguel Britos – 6.5 – Involved
Came into life in the second half and finished expertly to equalise.
David Lopez – 6.5 – Focussed
Read the game intelligently and initiated counter attacks as he was instructed to frustrate his more illustrious opponents.
Walter Gargano – 5.5 – Determined
Broke up play effectively and provided steel to Napoli’s midfield. However gave the ball away one time too many.
Jose Callejon – 6.5 – Influential
Looked Napoli’s best bet on the counter and provided a couple of dangerous moments for the Juventus defence.
Marek Hamsik – 5 – Quiet
Wasn’t involved too much as the game bypassed him and was subbed off just before the hour mark.
Jonathan De Guzman – 4.5 – Poor
Guilty of missing a very easy chance in the opening 20 minutes, he was ineffective otherwise and wasted most of his crosses.
Gonzalo Higuain – 5 – Lethargic
A disappointing performance from the Argentine striker who only came into life as the match headed into injury time.
Substitutes
Dries Mertens – 6.5 – Impact
Came on for the last half an hour and made an immediate impact, winning and taking the corner for his side’s equaliser.
Manolo Gabbiadini – 5.5 – Ineffective
Had a quiet debut and was unable to make much of an impact after coming on.
Duvan Zapata – N/A
Juventus
Gianluigi Buffon – 5.5 – Shaky
Wasn’t the usual reliable performance from the 36-year-old and was lucky to not concede the equaliser at 2-1 when the referee blew for a soft foul.
Martin Caceres – 8 – Marauding
Was very lively on the right flank bombing forward at every given opportunity and providing a couple of delightful crosses and gave his side the lead after a scruffy finish.
Leonardo Bonucci – 6 – Sturdy
The Italian international had a fairly comfortable afternoon dealing with Napoli’s sporadic counter attacks.
Giorgio Chiellini – 7 – Solid
Made a couple of very important blocks to keep his side ahead and made sure that Juventus didn’t lose their lead a second time.
Patrice Evra – 6 – Decent
Didn’t anything going forward but was comfortable in defence especially after Gabbiadini came on.
Paul Pogba – 5.5 – Faded
Was quite apart from the goal which required a beautiful technique to execute. Subbed off with 20 minutes remaining.
Andrea Pirlo – 7 – Metronome
Put in his usual shift, spraying some excellent balls out wide before delivering the perfect assist for Caceres.
Arturo Vidal – 7.5 – Commando
The Chilean put in another impressive shift in midfield before capping it off with a stunning strike to finish Napoli off.
Claudio Marchisio – 6.5 – Disciplined
Was part of the trio that dominated the midfield in the opening hour. Committed a few fouls though he was good with winning the ball back.
Fernando Llorente – 7 – Hardworking
Was very good with the ball at his feet as he did brilliantly to hold off both centrebacks before setting up Pogba. Had to put in a real shift as Juventus played without any width.
Carlos Tevez – 5.5 – Silent
Had a very quiet game though he worked his socks off running the channels and helping out in midfield.
Substitutes
Stephan Lichtsteiner – 6 – Focused
Added steel to the Juventus defence as they switched to a back three and helped them preserve the lead.
Alvaro Morata – 6 – Provider
Didn’t have much to do after coming on though he was the outlet for the counter-attack through which Vidal scored after receiving the Spaniard’s cross.
Angelo Ogbonna – N/A
